Pandemic Strikes New York's Free College Program

The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening to bankrupt a program in New York that provides free tuition for college.

According to CNBC, the Excelsior Scholarship program, which is run by the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation, is in jeopardy because of a massive budget shortfall related to the coronavirus crisis.

New York State Higher Education Services Corporation spokesperson Angela Liotta told CNBC, "the state is contending with a devastating revenue loss, amounting to $62 billion over four years. And in the absence of multi-year federal funding to offset this loss, future awards, including the Excelsior Scholarship award, which helps middle-class students with the last mile of college funding and is estimated to have served more than 28,000 students in the 2019-20 academic year, may have to be reduced and/or prioritized for current recipients."

The drastic loss in revenues led to budget shortfalls across the board in many states, but particularly in New York, which was hit hard by the virus earlier this year.

The Excelsior Scholarship started in 2017 and provides college students four years of tuition at state schools. Families making up to $125,000 a year qualify for it.

Liotta said money was distributed for the fall semester, but the future of the program is in flux.

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